All language subtitles for Air.Disasters.S18E05.Hudson.River.Runway.1080p.SMIT.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-maldini_track3_[eng]

After takeoff
checklist complete.

NARRATOR: US Airways
Flight 1549 has just left

New York's LaGuardia Airport.

[ominous music]

Birds.

[crash]

JEFFREY SKILES: And that fast,
we were just on top of them.

My aircraft.

Your aircraft.

NARRATOR: Both of the plane's
engines have stopped working.

Mayday, mayday, mayday,
this is Cactus 1549.

NARRATOR: The plane is
falling from the sky.

There are only a few seconds
to decide what to do.

PATRICK HARTEN: If we
can get it for you,

you want to try and
land on runway 13.

We're unable.

NARRATOR: 155 lives
depend on the pilots

making the right call.

Get your heads
down and stay down.

PATRICK HARTEN: Hey,
Cactus 1549, you

can land runway 1 at Teterboro.

Can't do it.

NARRATOR: With a bad
option on the right

and a worse one on
the left, the crew

decides to put their Airbus on
the runway that's dead ahead.

We're going to
be in the Hudson.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT (ON
PA): Ladies and gentlemen

we are starting our approach.

PILOT: We lost both engines.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT (ON PA):
Put the mask over your nose.

Emergency [inaudible]

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:
Mayday, mayday.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT:
Brace for impact!

MAN 1: I think I lost them.

[interposing voices]

MAN 2: He's gonna crash!

[crash]

[music playing]

NARRATOR: New York's LaGuardia
Airport, mid-afternoon.

Please take a moment to listen
to this important information.

NARRATOR: US Airways
Flight 1549 is

a short hop from New York City
to Charlotte, North Carolina.

At least it will be a
little warmer in Charlotte.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT (ON
PA): Your seat cushion

serves as a flotation device.

NARRATOR: Together
in the cockpit today

our Captain Chesley
Sullenberger, 57--

Clean to push.

NARRATOR: --and first
officer Jeffrey Skiles, 49.

JEFFREY SKILES: We were
late because the weather

was bad earlier.

But by this point, the weather
cleared off for our departure.

And it was just puffy clouds.

PATRICK HARTEN (ON RADIO):
28, brakes released.

Spark 28 for Cactus 1549.

NARRATOR: 150
passengers are on board

the European-made Airbus A320.

Businessman Clay Presley is
on his way home to Charlotte.

I arrived at the
airport at LaGuardia.

It was very cold.

It had been snowing a
little bit that day.

And we had a storm
coming in, so we wanted

to make sure we made that flight
and weren't hung up or delayed

on some later flights.

NARRATOR: The crew
flew in an hour earlier

from Charlotte with
Sullenberger at the controls.

Your brakes, your aircraft.

NARRATOR: First Officer
Skiles will be flying

the plane back to Charlotte.

My aircraft.

NARRATOR: It's a common
sharing of piloting duties.

PATRICK HARTEN (ON RADIO):
Cactus 1549, runway 4,

clear for takeoff.

Cactus 1549,
clear for takeoff.

NARRATOR: This trip
marks the final leg

of a four-day sequence
of flights for both men.

We made our standard callouts.

It was just a normal takeoff,
normal procedures on the climb

out.

There was absolutely
nothing at all

to indicate that this would be
any different than any other

takeoff in my entire career.

NARRATOR: But by
the end of the day,

they'll be the most
famous crew on the planet.

Gear up please.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER: Gear up.

NARRATOR: Patrick Harten is
one of the controllers handling

traffic out of LaGuardia today.

He has one of the most
stressful jobs in the world.

PATRICK HARTEN: When I sit
down in front of a radar,

I'm responsible for every
person on every airplane

under my control.

And I take that
responsibility very seriously.

Cactus 1549, New York
departure, radar contact.

Climb and maintain 1 5,000.

NARRATOR: The flight will climb
Northeast out of LaGuardia

and then begin a slow turn
south toward Charlotte.

It was just a normal
departure, you know?

It was just another flight that
I've handled a million times.

NARRATOR: Riding
the thrust of two

General Electric engines, the
aircraft powers into the sky.

Cactus 1549, 700,
climbing 5,000.

What a view of the Hudson today.

JEFFREY SKILES: Yeah.

After takeoff
checklist complete.

NARRATOR: Flight
1549 is traveling

at almost 250 miles per hour.

It's been in the air for
just a minute and a half.

I caught something out
of the corner of my eye.

And slightly to our
right but still ahead of

us was a line of birds.

Birds.

And they were very
very close, too close

for us to maneuver around.

Whoa!
[bird screech]

[crash]

And that fast, we were
just on top of them.

You can just feel the power
of the plane going forward.

And then all of a sudden,
there was this gigantic boom.

It seemed like it
stopped in midair,

like you hit a brick wall.

Oh, my God, the
engine's on fire!

CLAY PRESLEY: And
then all of a sudden,

somebody said, the
left engine is on fire.

Uh-oh.

Before we could even
assess the situation--

We got one roll, both
of them rolling back.

--both engines
roll back to idle.

Ignition start.

NARRATOR: Just 13 seconds
after their problems begin,

Sullenberger takes control
of a struggling plane.

My aircraft.

Your aircraft.

Get the QRH, loss of
thrust in both engines.

NARRATOR: The QRH, or
Quick Reference Handbook,

is a step-by-step guide to
dealing with emergencies.

Mayday, mayday, mayday,
this is Cactus 1549.

Hit birds, we've lost
thrust in both engines.

We're turning back
towards LaGuardia.

PATRICK HARTEN: When a pilot
says mayday or declares

an emergency, now you
go from a focus state

to a hyperfocus state.

You just focus in
on the emergency

itself and figure out the
solution to the problem.

OK, you need to
return to LaGuardia.

Turn left, heading 2, 2, 0.

2, 2, 0.

All of a sudden,
there was a smell

that came through the cabin.

Something's burning.

[beeping]

If fuel remaining, engine
mode selector ignition.

What I'm thinking, though, at
this point is that, you know,

we're just going to have
to restart an engine.

Thrust levers.

Confirm idle.

Idle.

The procedure is to try
to restart the engines.

And I always had faith
we could do that.

Airspeed optimum
relay, 300 knots.

We don't have that.

We don't.

OK, Cactus 1549, if
we can get it for you,

you want to try and
land on runway 13.

We're unable.

PATRICK HARTEN:
The conversations

with Captain Sullenberger
were very short

and to the point, which was very
appropriate for the emergency.

There was a lot going on and
wasn't much time to handle it.

When Captain Sullenberger
simply said, unable, I--

it didn't bother me.

I mean, he had his hands
full flying the airplane,

and I understood that.

So my job is just to move
on to the next option.

All right, Cactus
1549, it's going

to be traffic for runway 31.

Unable.

Harten still wants the
jet to return to LaGuardia.

But Flight 1549 is now just
1,400 feet above the ground.

Cactus 1549, runway
4 is available.

If you want to make
left, traffic runway 4.

I'm not sure we
can make any runway.

What's to our right, anything
in New Jersey, Teterboro?

OK, yeah, uh, off
to your right side

is Teterboro Airport.

You want to try to
go to Teterboro?

NARRATOR: Teterboro is a small
airport on the New Jersey

side of the Hudson River.

But it's several miles away.

And without their engines,
Flight 1549 is dropping fast.

PATRICK HARTEN (ON RADIO): You
want to try to go to Teterboro?

Yes.

JEFFREY SKILES:
When the air traffic

controller pointed out
Teterboro, I looked at it,

and I stopped.

And I was kind of
concerned that he was

actually going to try for it.

I didn't think we could make it.

So you're sitting
there very quietly.

People are anxiously
waiting for information.

And they wanted reassurance
that things were going to be OK.

[beeping]

You could hear the
microphone come on.

This is the captain.

CLAY PRESLEY: We're hoping
he was going to say,

I've got this under control.

We're going to be OK.

We're going to make it.

We're going to turn around
and go back and land.

That's what you
were hoping to hear.

Brace for impact.

What does he mean
brace for Impact?

And then all of a
sudden it registered.

I think he's say
we're going to crash.

Get your heads
down and stay down!

CLAY PRESLEY: I had no idea
about how to brace for impact.

Everybody's looking around.

Brace for Impact?

What do you mean
brace for impact?

FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Stay down!

CLAY PRESLEY: How do you brace?

Go ahead, try number 1.

I put it back on.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:
OK, put it back on.

Put it back on.

NARRATOR: While
the crew struggles

to fly their stricken plane--

No relay.

NARRATOR: Patrick
Harten is still

trying to find them an airport.

PATRICK HARTEN: I actually
worked Teeterboro Airport

for about three years, so I was
very familiar with the airport.

Hey, Cactus 1549, you can
land runway 1 at Teterboro.

Can't do it.

OK, which runway would
you like at Teeterboro.

We're going to
be in the Hudson.

I'm sorry, say again, Cactus?

I could hear them, but
my mind really didn't

want to comprehend those words.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER (ON RADIO):
We're gonna be in the Hudson.

That was a death
sentence for him.

And I didn't want to accept
the fact that it was over

and there were no
more options left.

[sighs]

I don't think we're
going back to LaGuardia.

I just emailed my wife
and just said, I love you.

And I didn't say anything
else because I really

did not want her to worry.

[beeping]

OK.

Let's go.

Put the flaps out.

And I thought to
myself, great, the Hudson

River was our best opportunity.

It was really the
only thing in sight

where we could
land this airplane.

NARRATOR: Passengers
throughout the plane

watch the Hudson rise to
meet them and begin making

preparations of their own.

CLAY PRESLEY: So I
started thinking about,

if we're going to crash,
I know I need to figure

out where the exit rows are.

If the water comes in, you need
to be able to hold your breath

long enough to get to
those four or five rows

and get the doors
open if you can.

Go flaps out, 250
feet in the air.

We're not going to be able
to get an engine started.

So I started calling out
air speeds and altitudes--

170 knots--

--to give him a situational
awareness of what was going on.

Got flaps two.

You want more?

No, let's stay at two.

Got any ideas?

Actually, not.

I was so focused on
what we were doing,

and I always thought
it would work out.

NARRATOR: Below 300 feet,
Patrick Harten's radar

can't see the plane.

Flight 1549 disappears.

PATRICK HARTEN: When the
aircraft disappeared off

my radar, I just assumed
that there weren't

going to be any survivors.

NARRATOR: In the
cabin, the passengers

prepare for the inevitable.

All the passengers
really started

kind of pulling together.

And somebody yelled out
as we were going down--

FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Get down!

MAN 1: Be ready at the doors.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Stay down!

CLAY PRESLEY: The folks at
the door says, we're ready.

MAN 2: We're ready.

And I was just
scared to death.

We're going to brace.

It looked like the airplane
was going right for the bottom

of the Hudson River.

All we saw was water
cascading over the windshield.

It was like a tornado.

Pieces of the plane
were being torn apart.

Some people were thrown
around pretty good.

PATRICK HARTEN: Then
the airplane popped up,

and it was just sort of
gently rocking in the waves.

[sighs]

CLAY PRESLEY: We
all just sat there.

We were all in shock.

And we were we were
waiting for what's next.

NARRATOR: US Airways Flight
1549 was in the air for just

five minutes and 8 seconds.

Having made a
remarkable landing,

the passengers and crew
now face a new danger.

The plane is leaking.

The ice cold water of the Hudson
is pouring into the cabin.

difficult aviation feat.

But they still have
more work to do.

Captain Sullenberger
heads for the cabin,

while first officer Skiles
shuts down the plane.

JEFFREY SKILES: I
stayed behind and did

the evacuation checklist.

And so it was probably
about 45 seconds

before I actually
went back myself

in the cabin after we landed.

[rushing water]

NARRATOR: In an
instant, the $75 million

plane has become
an unlikely boat

floating down the Hudson River.

It's now filling
with freezing water.

That water was cold.

It was very cold, so
your feet are freezing.

People came to their senses, and
they said, get the doors open,

get the doors open.

NARRATOR: At air
traffic control,

Patrick Harten has no idea the
plane even made it down safely.

PATRICK HARTEN: I didn't
think anyone could survive

a water landing like that.

They got me off position because
I was obviously in no condition

to work traffic anymore.

NARRATOR: Harten has
led to his union office.

Despite his ordeal,
protocol demands he

recount his version of events.

PATRICK HARTEN: I really
didn't want to speak to anyone.

I just wanted to kind
of hide under a rock.

I needed my wife to
know what had happened.

But I knew I couldn't
talk to her because I was

pretty much in a
fragile state, and I

didn't want to break down.

So I sent her a
simple text message.

I said, had a crash.

I'm not OK.

Can't talk now.

NARRATOR: Passengers
nearest the exits

opened the doors quickly, while
Sullenberger and the cabin crew

began managing evacuation.

CLAY PRESLEY: I just
jumped up very quickly

and started making my way
to the emergency door.

And so I work my way out
onto the wing, just a few

steps to start with.

I started noticing
that people around me

had their flotation devices.

They'd pulled up
their seat bottoms,

or they had a life jacket
that they had taken.

I had nothing with me.

NARRATOR: Skiles
heads back to help

the crew in the cabin
get passengers out

of the sinking plane.

He knows there's not much time.

And one of the flight
attendants has been injured.

JEFFREY SKILES: I went
back to about mid-cabin.

And Sully and I
and two young men

were getting seat
cushions and life vests,

which are underneath the seats.

And we're passing them out.

CLAY PRESLEY: And I'm
looking around trying

to assess the situation.

Is the plane going to blow up?

What's the next step?

There were actually
probably six or eight people

that went into the water.

And they were shivering,
and they were cold.

Just started pulling them
back up onto the wing.

NARRATOR: At the
back of the plane,

water continues pouring in.

Passengers are directed
to move forward to escape.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Go over
the seats if you have to.

NARRATOR: This unwieldy boat
won't be floating much longer.

We're actually in the water,
you know, up to our knees.

And it was just
absolutely freezing cold.

Every part of your body
that was in that water

just ached to the bone.

Go forward!

Is there anybody here?

We were very confident there
was nobody left on the airplane.

But what was going on
on the wings, you know,

we just had no idea.

NARRATOR: Skiles
and Sullenberger are

the last ones out of the plane.

[sirens]

I just saw the big
splash when the plane

just bounced over the water.

A small commercial airline
crashed into the water.

They've been in the water
more than 10 minutes already.

NARRATOR: LaGuardia Airport
has sent out an alert to New

York's emergency services.

[sirens]

[camera snapping]

In the middle of the Hudson,
155 frozen people hope

that help will arrive in time.

I saw the first ferry.

And I could see the wheelhouse.

I felt like, OK, we're
really going to be OK.

There was a sigh of relief.

NARRATOR: First on the
scene are passenger

ferries that had been shuttling
people across the Hudson.

They were eventually
joined by the Coast

Guard and fire department.

CLAY PRESLEY: The
atmosphere on the ferry

was still one of concern
because we didn't know

whether all the passengers got
off the plane at that point

in time.

I was sitting in
the union office

preparing to make my statement.

Where do I start?

And that's when
one of my friends

popped their head into the
office, said, hey, Patty,

it looks like everyone made it.

And I was like, really?

That was incredible news.

I mean, I was still traumatized
by the event itself.

But the fact that everyone
made it was just--

it was like the
weight of the world

was lifted off my shoulders.

[exhales]

NARRATOR: The
rescue is broadcast

live across the United States.

The entire nation looks on
as every single passenger

and the entire crew of Flight
1549 is brought to safety.

[interposing voices]

It's cold!

Are you OK?

Yeah.

NARRATOR: Like so many
others around the world,

investigators from the National
Transportation Safety Board

are riveted to the pictures.

Hey, you got to see this.

ROBERT BENZON: We learned a
little bit about the accident,

of course, before we launched.

The TV channels were
showing the aircraft

in the river and everything.

NARRATOR: All agree that the
landing is extraordinary.

I think it's a miracle.

And I'm very blessed
to have walked away.

I reached over to Captain
Sully and just said,

I just want you to
know you saved my life

and everyone's lives here.

In my mind, we were dead.

And every one of us
came out of that alive.

It's a miracle.

NARRATOR: By
evening, the plane is

almost completely underwater.

The current is pushing it
towards the edge of the river.

NTSB investigator Harald
Reichel arrives on the scene.

The water was dark, of course.

We just saw the tail and
most of the fuselage.

And one of the wings was
underneath the water.

ROBERT BENZON: We knew
it was going to be quite

difficult to get it,
A, out of the water,

and then B, to a
place where we could

examine the components
of the airplane

in a more controlled manner.

Normally, their main task is to
uncover the cause of a crash.

With Flight 1549, the
cause seems obvious.

Birds.

NARRATOR: The original
mayday call was clear.

Mayday, mayday, mayday.

This is Cactus 1549.

Hit birds, we've lost
thrust in both engines.

We're turning back
towards LaGuardia.

PATRICK HARTEN: OK, you need
to come back to LaGuardia.

NARRATOR: The crew reported that
they hit several birds shortly

after takeoff.

I think everybody
realized that a bird

strike had occurred.

What people didn't know was
what kind of birds brought

the aircraft down, whether it
might have been a combination

of a bird strike
plus something else,

whether the crew acted
and flew the aircraft

as they should have.

My aircraft.

Your aircraft.

Get the QRH.

The US Airways pilot made an
incredibly skillful emergency

landing in the Hudson River.

[cameras snapping]

NARRATOR: Investigators want
to interview both pilots.

But their sudden fame
makes them hard to get to.

[applause]

It became a little bit
more difficult than usual to,

A, locate the flight crew,
and then, B, to talk to them.

They were instant heroes.

[laughter]

[cheering]

JEFFREY SKILES:
Nothing in life can

prepare one for the media
frenzy of a situation,

you know, like this.

NARRATOR: And it's not just
the pilots' newfound celebrity

that's an obstacle
for investigators

like Katherine Wilson.

One of the most challenging
things in this case

was nobody wanted
to sully Sully.

You know, he was a
hero in this case.

[applause]

And we were the ones who was
potentially going to pick apart

what he did and try to
find out what he did

and whether it was right or not.

NARRATOR: To prove that
birds caused the crash,

authorities need to get
the plane out of the water.

But a vital piece is missing.

ROBERT BENZON: We had been told
earlier that both engines were

still attached to the aircraft.

That turned out not to be true.

So that became a major
goal right off the bat

was to figure out where
that second engine was.

We didn't know
exactly where it was.

Let's focus on this area.

But we had films of the
aircraft actually touching down,

and we could cross-reference
different things.

We used some side-scanning
sonar that gave us a very

clear picture of the bottom.

HARALD REICHEL: It wasn't that
easy to do because the Hudson

River has a current.

And the current changes
throughout the day.

So it took three days,
ultimately, to find the engine.

NARRATOR: Within days, the
recovered engine and the rest

of the aircraft are moved
to a warehouse in New Jersey

so investigators can study
the wreckage more carefully.

We certainly couldn't do
it out there at the edge

of the Hudson River.

And you can imagine how
interesting it was to take

an airplane, 150 or 200 feet
long, through a very, very

populated area of New Jersey.

NARRATOR: As the
plane is being moved,

investigators work with the
voice and data recorders--

OK, let's hear it.

NARRATOR: --which
were in the most

damaged part of the plane--

the tail.

ROBERT BENZON: The
cockpit voice recorder

and the flight
data recorder were

in virtually pristine shape.

The aircraft had sustained
quite a bit of damage

in the rear end.

But the recorders themselves
survived very well.

PATRICK HARTEN (ON RECORDING):
--climb and maintain 1 5,000.

We were really
lucky all of the data

was able to be
downloaded normally.

Whoa.

[crash]

We got one roll, both
of them rolling back.

NARRATOR: Listening
to the CVR provides

vital insight into how the crew
responded to the emergency.

KATHERINE WILSON: In
this case, both Captain

Sullenberger and
First Officer Skiles

acted extremely professionally.

[beeping]

Ignition start.

KATHERINE WILSON: Each
member had their own roles

and responsibilities.

They stayed with those
roles and responsibilities

throughout the accident
flight, and communicated

only when necessary.

Put the flaps up.

NARRATOR: On Flight 1549--

My aircraft.

Your aircraft.

NARRATOR: --it took just
seconds for the crew

to each assume their
individual responsibilities.

Part of the reason they
handled the emergency so well

was that Jeffrey
Skiles had only just

finished his Airbus training.

JEFFREY SKILES: This
was my first trip out

as a regular line pilot
in the Airbus A320.

I literally was right
out of training.

And the benefit of
that he knew exactly the

checklist to turn to.

And that's exactly what he did.

JEFFREY SKILES:
If fuel remaining,

engine mode selector ignition.

KATHERINE WILSON: Crews are
highly trained in emergency

procedures.

And the main thing is to follow
procedures in this instance.

And that's exactly what First
Officer Skiles did by grabbing

the Quick Reference
Handbook and turning

to the appropriate checklist.

NARRATOR: But as investigators
examine the checklist

for restarting this
plane's engines,

they make a troubling discovery.

It was assembled for an
event that occurred 20,000 feet

in the air, where a crew would
have plenty of time to slowly

and carefully go through
a three-page checklist,

the end of which was, how
do we ditch the airplane?

JEFFREY SKILES: So it was
a three-page checklist.

And really, I only got to
about the-- page and a half

through this checklist
in the time that we had.

Airspeed optimum relay.

KATHERINE WILSON: And the crew
spent a lot of time trying

to restart the engines
when they could

have been focusing on preparing
the airplane for the ditching.

300 knots.

We don't have that.

We don't.

NARRATOR: Overly
complicated checklists

have played a role in deadly
plane crashes in the past.

In 1998, a fire
broke out onboard

a Swiss Air passenger jet.

The checklist the crew
used for that situation

would have taken them up to
a half an hour to complete.

It was a half hour
they didn't have.

But on Flight
1549, the checklist

was far from the
greatest challenge

facing Sullenberger and Skiles.

I'm not sure we
can make any runway.

NARRATOR: Water
landings are notoriously

difficult because,
unless they're perfect,

they can be catastrophic.

In 1996, after a hijacking,
an Ethiopian Airlines captain

tried to land off
the Comoros Islands

when his plane ran out of fuel.

His left wing hit
the water first,

causing the plane to cartwheel.

It was ripped to pieces.

Of the 175 people
onboard, only 50 survived.

Investigators soon learned
that none of the major airlines

use simulators to teach
pilots how to land on water.

Training for ditching in a
simulator is very difficult.

We don't have the
models to accurately

simulate what an
airplane would do

when it touches down on water.

Given the rarity of
this type of event,

it would be very difficult
to justify training

pilots for this type of event.

NARRATOR: But even without ever
going through a simulation,

Captain Sullenberger got
almost everything right.

He kept the nose
up and wings level.

He let the tail hit
the water first,

slowing the jet down enough so
that it survived the impact.

Nice flying.

NARRATOR: NTSB investigators
turn to their own simulation

to answer a vital question.

This is the captain.

NARRATOR: Did Sullenberger
have to land in the Hudson,

or could he have
made it to a runway?

This is Cactus 1549.

Hit birds--

NARRATOR: Investigators
studied Chesley Sullenberger

and Jeffrey Skiles'
actions in the moments

after the plane
collided with birds.

Ignition.

KATHERINE WILSON:
We wanted to know,

did the pilots do
the right thing?

So what we did in the simulator
was we tested exactly that.

Was there enough energy to
make it back to LaGuardia?

And what we found was that
about 50% of the time,

we were able to make
it back to the airport.

NARRATOR: But when a 35-second
delay is imposed after the bird

strike to account for the crew's
attempt to restart the engines,

all the simulator pilots crash
before reaching the runway.

KATHERINE WILSON: When we
took into consideration

the decision-making process
that Captain Sullenberger went

through, we realized that it
was not possible to make it back

to the airport.

Cactus 1549, runway
4 is available.

NARRATOR: There's no doubt.

We're going to
be in the Hudson.

NARRATOR: Putting the plane in
the Hudson was the right call.

Sullenberger didn't
have enough altitude

to glide to either LaGuardia
or Teterboro Airports.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER (ON
RECORDING): I've got one roll.

Both of them rolling back.

NARRATOR: The investigators
also discovered--

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER (ON
RECORDING): Ignition start.

NARRATOR: --that Sullenberger
made a decision that wasn't

at the top of the
checklist, one that

was critical to the survival
of everyone on board.

CHESLEY SULLENBERGER:
I'm starting the APU.

NARRATOR: On
commercial jetliners,

the engines provide power
to electrical systems.

If the engine stopped
working, the crew

eventually loses those systems.

The APU is an
emergency generator

that keeps some things running.

The APU allowed him to
still see his screens.

The instruments still worked.

NARRATOR: It also allowed
the A320 itself to assist

with the heroic landing.

The APU provided power to
the plane's electronic brain,

stopping the pilots from
making any potentially

dangerous moves.

It kept them inside a
so-called flight envelope.

By starting the APU
early in the sequence,

the flight crew was able to
maintain the flight envelope

protections, which prevented
the airplane from stalling

when the airspeed got too slow.

He's right on the
edge of stall speed.

NARRATOR: The flight data shows
that Sullenberger was going

slower than the ideal speed.

KATHERINE WILSON: The
airspeed during the accident

sequence got about 20
knots slower than it should

have been for this flight.

NARRATOR: But the
A320's flight computer

is designed to constantly
adjust the plane's pitch

and keep it from stalling.

KATHERINE WILSON:
We definitely could

have had a much more
catastrophic outcome had

the airplane actually stalled.

Starting the APU.

NARRATOR: Sullenberger's
quick thinking

made sure the plane's complex
computer system kept working.

It gave him an
automated safety net

so he'd have the best chance
to do the nearly impossible.

We're going to
be in the Hudson.

ROBERT BENZON: It was a
combination of a good crew

and a good airplane.

Let's go.

Put the flaps out.

The captain had
the presence of mind,

for instance, just before they
were about to land a couple

of hundred feet in the air
to turn to the first officer

and ask, got any ideas?

Actually, not.

They were both coordinating
right up to the end.

And that's what we like to see.

NARRATOR: Skill, training,
and the aircraft's very design

combined to save the
lives of 155 people.

But investigators still want
to know how birds crippled two

highly advanced jet
engines, and if they can

stop it from happening again.

[geese honking]

Eight days after the
crash, investigators

are finally able to examine
the engines in detail.

Richard Dolbeer has
spent much of his career

studying collisions between
birds and airplanes.

When aircraft strikes a
bird, generally, there's

not much left of the bird,
particularly if that bird

goes through the engine.

NARRATOR: The engines are
analyzed piece by piece

to try and figure out
exactly what happened

3,000 feet above New York.

Let's look inside.

We exposed the engine
surfaces to a black light.

Proteins from many tissues will
fluoresce with a black light.

Much of the tissue was already
gone, but many of the proteins

stayed on the surfaces
of the engine.

Look at that.

NARRATOR: Deep in the
right engine, investigators

find about a cup
of charred remains.

Most of the remains
found were just

muscle tissue, bone fragments,
and minuscule feather remains.

I was able to find about 29
samples in one engine and 14

in the other.

NARRATOR: But the engines aren't
the only part of the plane

that's been damaged.

- Birds.
- Whoa!

[crash]

The aircraft hit
many birds, so we

found evidence on the
wings and on the flaps

and on the fuselage.

But the plane can still
fly when that occurs.

NARRATOR: The threat posed by
bird strikes is well known.

RICHARD DOLBEER: Bird strikes
are a much bigger problem than

the general public realizes.

In the last 20 years, there
have been approximately 210

aircraft that have
been destroyed because

of collisions with birds.

NARRATOR: This Boeing
757 ingested a crow

while taking off from
Manchester, England,

later landing safely.

In 2008 alone, there were
four dramatic accidents.

A Boeing 747 sucked a kestrel
into one of its engines.

The crew aborted
takeoff and survived.

The plane was ruined.

This jet ingested pelicans
into both engines.

And one ended up in the cockpit.

Repairs cost $2 million.

The engine of an MD10 was
severely damaged by a gadwall.

The repair cost was $900,000.

And five people were killed
when this Cessna smashed

into at least one pelican.

More than 200 people have
died in bird strike accidents

since 1998.

[geese honking]

The problem could get
worse, because there

are more birds out there.

By restricting the use
of pesticides that were

hazardous to birds, such as DDT,
we've seen a tremendous rebound

in the populations of bird
species, a remarkable increase

in the Canada geese that are
resident, nonmigratory birds.

Nationwide, the population
has grown from about 1 million

to about 4 million.

[geese honking]

NARRATOR: At LaGuardia, one of
the airport's biggest problems

is a year-round goose colony
on nearby Rikers Island.

RICHARD DOLBEER: From
the year 2002 to 2004,

there were eight Canada goose
strikes at LaGuardia Airport,

involved birds
either on the airport

or right off of the airport.

One of those strikes almost
caused a plane to crash.

And it was a very close call.

NARRATOR: For the
past several years,

airport officials have
rounded up hundreds of geese

from Rikers Island
and euthanized them.

It's controversial but
should be effective.

So where did these
birds come from?

NARRATOR: If the geese that
hit US Airways Flight 1549

were local, they
can be controlled.

Investigators need to
know more about them.

The remains that we did find
were so small that we couldn't

really tell what type of birds.

We enlisted the help of the
Smithsonian Institution.

They can take remains,
even very small remains,

small pieces of feathers
or flesh or whatever,

and they can identify them.

NARRATOR: The hope is that
DNA analysis of the remains

will not only confirm the bird
species but also offer clues

as to where they came from.

While they wait for
answers, investigators

turn to answering the question
of how a few birds forced

a 68-ton jet from the sky.

[camera snapping]

engines undergo rigorous testing
to prove they can perform

under extreme conditions.

The tests include ingesting
frozen bird carcasses.

The CFM turbofan engines
that power the A320

passed those tests and
were certified in 1996.

The large bird test required
for the CFM engine is shooting

a 4-pound bird from an air
cannon into the engine, which

is running at near full power.

NARRATOR: To pass, the engines
don't have to keep running.

They only have to stay
together, which they

did on Sullenberger's plane.

Well, the engines
did not experience what

we call uncontained failures.

No large chunks of
fan blades or anything

flew out through
the cowls to hurt

people inside the airplane.

Fan blades are always the most
interesting part to look at.

And they often
tell quite a story.

NARRATOR: A series of fan
blades throughout the engine

compress incoming air until
it's ignited in the core,

creating thrust.

Ingested birds can wreak
havoc on this process.

When a fan blade
of an engine fails,

it causes a lot of
continuing damage.

In this particular case, all
the fan blades were there.

They suffered severe damage,
but none were broken.

NARRATOR: An analysis
of the engine

shows that, while the primary
fan blade survived the impact,

the delicate machinery inside
the cores of both engines

did not.

Uh-oh.

We got one roll, both
of them rolling back.

Once we went into the
engine itself into the core,

we determined that there
was significant damage.

When a bird gets
ingested into the core,

it is such a large mass
compared to these blades

that it does a lot
of damage to them.

NARRATOR: The birds
ingested into Flight 1549--

Mayday, mayday, mayday.

This is Cactus 1549.

NARRATOR: --ripped apart
the engines compressors.

Metal shards from these
broken compressors

were sucked deep into the
cores of both engines,

shutting them down.

We've hit birds.

We've lost thrust
in both engines.

NARRATOR: When DNA results
come back from the Smithsonian

Institution, investigators
finally understand why Flight

1549 lost both of its engines.

The birds that
struck Sullenberger

and Skiles' aircraft
were adult Canada geese.

They were far
larger than anything

the engines were ever test for.

Because of that
analysis, we know

that these birds
ingested each probably

weighed about 10 pounds.

NARRATOR: The tests
also confirmed

that as many as four large birds
had hit Flight 1549's engines.

It was simply too much
for them to handle.

HARALD REICHEL: Rarely
do birds get ingested

into the core of the engine.

Rarely--

Uh-oh.

HARALD REICHEL: --does
an engine ingest the bird

and then stop
running completely.

That's a very rare event.

Ignition start.

HARALD REICHEL: But what
makes this one even rarer

is that both engines ingested
birds and both shut down.

We're going to
be in the Hudson.

NARRATOR: The DNA test also
proves that the geese involved

in this accident were not the
local geese that LaGuardia

has worked so hard to manage.

These were geese that
had been in northern Canada

during the preceding summer.

They were migratory geese.

NARRATOR: The collision
between the migrating geese

and Flight 1549 happened
a little over 4 miles

from the airport.

It means that none of
the existing programs

for reducing the
number of birds would

have prevented the collision.

It also means that what
happened to that flight

could happen again,
unless a way can be found

to keep birds and planes apart.

MAN (ON RADIO): 52 1
rotor contact loss.

Report 20 DME southeastern.

I won't pick you up at that
altitude that far out, sir.

NARRATOR: Every year,
about 2 million planes

pass over New York's airspace.

RICHARD DOLBEER:
Most people do not

appreciate the problems that
birds can cause to aircraft.

They don't realize how a
small, seemingly insignificant

organism in relation to
the size of an aircraft

can cause these kinds of
catastrophic failures.

NARRATOR: The airline
industry needs to find

solutions to bird strikes.

Placing screens in
front of the engines

is one of the most
obvious answers.

But there are serious drawbacks.

Screens can fall off.

Screens can break.

And then they would be
ingested into the engine

causing similar damage or
more catastrophic damage.

NARRATOR: Screens can
also introduce turbulence

to the airflow, which can
starve the engines of air

causing them to fail.

Winter weather is also a serious
problem for engine screens.

HARALD REICHEL: A screen
is a perfect ice builder,

and it will accrete ice very
quickly in icing conditions.

NARRATOR: A more
promising solution

is already being tested in
several American cities,

including New York.

At John F. Kennedy
Airport, specialized radar

is sweeping the sky's looking
for birds near planes.

It can distinguish items
the size of hummingbirds.

If any birds are detected
moving through flight paths,

crews could be alerted.

I would love to see
bird radar technology.

The key would be
how to incorporate

that without increasing
workload to an already

stressed controller.

NARRATOR: Tests continue, but
widespread use of avian radar

is still in its infancy.

PATRICK HARTEN (ON RADIO):
Cactus 1549, runway 4 clear

for takeoff.

Cactus 1549,
clear for takeoff.

NARRATOR: Until then, collisions
between birds and planes

will continue.

What the safe outcome of Flight
1549 proved is that, right now,

the best defense
against this threat

is a good team in the cockpit.

We had a very
experienced flight

crew with very good training.

My aircraft.

Your aircraft.

Get the QRH.

All your training that you've
done all the years that you've

been flying the airplanes,
it all just comes back to you

when you when you need it.

My aircraft.

Your aircraft.

JEFFREY SKILES: Sully
and I worked together

extremely well in this event.

I knew what was in his mind,
and he knew what was in my mind.

We were both accomplishing
our individual roles,

but we had a knowledge
of the whole situation.

OK, you need to
return to LaGuardia.

Turn left, heading 2, 2, 0.

2, 2, 0.

PATRICK HARTEN: This
event definitely

puts things in perspective
for you as a controller.

One thing I appreciate
more, the teamwork

and how when you
work together you

can pretty much
accomplish whatever

you need to accomplish.

Off to your right side
is Teterboro airport.

You want to try
and make Teterboro?

We're going to
be in the Hudson.

NARRATOR: The landing in the
Hudson took training and skill.

It also took a bit of luck.

We had a very clear day.

We had a perfect
condition for the river.

So there was just a series
of really fortunate events

that occurred that assisted
this crew in landing

successfully on the river.

[music playing]

ROBERT BENZON: Well,
at the Safety Board,

we don't really deal
in miracles very often.

But this event had
a lot of things

that came together at the
right time and the right place.

And so a lot of us are
thinking, well, maybe

we do have a miracle here.

What a view of
the Hudson today.